A pioneer of female Rotary membership, Mrs Mills was one of the first two women to join Rotary Dunedin in 1995, alongside Astrid Windfuhr, and became its first woman president in 2001.
In the years since her induction, Mrs Mills has watched with approval as the number of women joining the club has steadily increased. Today, 30% of Rotary Dunedin members are women.
"Joining the club brought me into a whole new environment, particularly in relation to gaining an understanding of the business community," she said.
"It was great to feel you were contributing your skills to fundraising and supporting the community, and the camaraderie was just fantastic."
Mrs Mills’ first encounter with Rotary Dunedin was when she went to speak to the club in her role as publicity-fundraising officer for the Cancer Society Otago-Southland, in the hope of gaining support for the organisation’s work in supporting people living with cancer and their families.
"The club were incredibly supportive of our welfare aims in the Cancer Society, and our cause became a district fundraiser for Rotary, which raised $330,000.
"That was incredibly valuable support."
Over the 24 years of her membership — she retired in 2019 — Mrs Mills and Rotary Dunedin were involved in an extraordinary array of fundraising and practical projects.
These included building wooden paths at Orokonui Ecosanctuary, distributing fruit, selling many thousands of daffodils, dismantling the former Carisbrook site and selling the materials to raise $200,000 for the children’s ward at Dunedin Hospital, the Trees for Families planting project, and building structures and beautifying the West Harbour shared path.
Rotary Dunedin club members and their families also planted 200,000 daffodil bulbs and thousands of rhododendrons around Dunedin, all donated by late club member Les Cleveland.
"Over the years, there were so many opportunities to really put your skills to work for the community in practical ways."
Becoming the first female club president, and later taking on district roles for Rotary, pushed Mrs Mills outside her comfort zone.
"But then it was a great experience to lead the club for 12 months," she said.
"I was very well supported, and it came with a lot of opportunities."
Although retired, Mrs Mills maintains a keen interest in Rotary Dunedin and is pleased that the club is going into its centennial year in 2023 with a woman president, Fiona Nyhof.
After a 29-year career with the Cancer Society, Mrs Mills maintains a focus on health as a member of the Community Health Council.
